


Into Deep Eternity

by isquinnabel



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Lost
Genre: Crossover, Drabble Sequence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-08
Updated: 2013-02-08
Packaged: 2017-11-28 14:51:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/675620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isquinnabel/pseuds/isquinnabel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eloise sends Daniel a most unusual book, written by a most unusual scientist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into Deep Eternity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aurilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurilly/gifts).



> Thanks linzbritcrazed for betaing, and being such a good sport and agreeing to do it at short notice! ♥ Fic title is from _Exultation is the Going_ by Emily Dickinson. Quote at the end of the fic is from episode 5.14 _The Variable_.
> 
> Written for Crossover Exchange 2012, with the prompt _bonding over impossible science_.

 

 

_Daniel,_

_I recently purchased a trunk of old manuscripts at an auction, and found this while sorting it all. I thought it might interest you. Granted, it’s a little eccentric, but I know you won’t allow that to bother you. All of history’s greatest thinkers are somewhat eccentric._

_You need to commit to a research area sooner rather than later. I do hope this will inspire you towards the right path. You need to undertake research that will push you, Daniel – you and I both know that you’re capable of greatness._

_Remember that I love you. Always remember._

_Mother_

 

-

 

It wasn’t the first time she’d posted books to him. 

Some he’d devoured with an insatiable hunger, while others languished on his bedside table for months. However, every last one was dutifully crammed into some corner of his flat, whether shoved into an awkward-shaped gap in the enormous bookshelf, precariously stacked underneath his desk, or even used to prop open the kitchen window.

This book was different. It was clearly one-of-a-kind – it looked like it had been bound by hand with the utmost care, an exquisitely detailed lion in mid-roar embossed on the cover.

He began reading it almost immediately.

 

-

 

_A Treatise on Inter-World Time Displacement  
Prof. Digory Kirke_

_In previous volumes, I have devoted little space to the concept of Time, and its unusual behavior when travelling between worlds. This is a narrow and difficult focus, extremely difficult to comprehend. Indeed, I question whether our minds have the capacity to fully grasp the intricate mysteries of Time. (Though, of course, I will continue to try.)_

_The following pages were written after thorough interviews with my usual research subjects. The nature of the subject matter means that proper experimentation is impossible, and at times we must resort to educated conjecture._

 

-

 

[She was shy at first, kept on and on stirring her tea. Putting little girls at ease had never been his strength (he wished Polly could have come) but once she started she chattered away. Of course she did – how many chances did she have to speak so fondly of Marshwiggles without ridicule?

When she mentioned the Mountain, he was particularly fascinated.

“It was an odd sort of place,” she said, smiling dreamily. “It felt like everything just… _was_. Beginnings and middles and ends didn’t seem to exist.” She paused. “It felt real. More real than Narnia, or even home.”]

 

-

 

It wasn’t a long book, but it was difficult to finish. Daniel needed time between readings to piece his thoughts back together.

It was the strangest thing he’d ever read. This Professor Kirke had apparently ascribed to some bizarre mutation of the many-worlds interpretation, but the book was dated 1948 – well before that theory gained traction. Also, Kirke completely took it for granted that alternate universes existed, and that travel between them was possible. There were strings of equations that led nowhere, and even a section titled _Between Worlds: The Absence of Time_.

He sighed, flipping back to page one.

 

-

 

[Digory groaned, papers stacked tall around him.

“It’s impossible,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “The numbers don’t work. On our end, it universally behaves like no time has passed. But for Narnia, it’s completely arbitrary.”

“Perhaps –”

“And the figures I have are so rough. Edmund knows exactly how many days they were at sea, but all the other timeframes are estimates.” 

“Well–”

“Maybe if I–”

“Digory! If you’d just shut up a moment!” Polly exhaled. “Suppose the maths is impossible. _Actually_ impossible.”

He bit his pencil. “Well… I hope not. I’d really like to work it out.”]

 

-

 

Daniel had spent the night in the library and had very little to show for it. He was dreadfully pale next morning, with dark circles under his eyes and smudges of ink across his forehead.

The _Treatise_ ’s introduction had alluded to multiple other works, but it was impossible to track down any more of Kirke’s writings. The only relevant thing he’d found was an old Times article – squinting at the microfilm, he’d unearthed Digory Kirke’s name among a list of those deceased in a train accident.

He fell asleep at his kitchen table, dreaming of dimension-jumping and aggressive catalogue numbers.

 

-

 

“What did you think of the book?”

He tugged at the phone cord, relieved that this conversation wasn’t face-to-face.

“It was… interesting.”

She chuckled. “That was a very half-hearted euphemism. Come on, now. Tell me what you thought.”

“Well…” He stopped. “What did _you_ think?”

“I thought it was rather brilliant.”

He winced, closing his eyes. “But… you can’t have. It’s impossible. Didn’t you read the part about absence of time? Time doesn’t work that way! It _can’t_.”

“For heaven’s sake, Daniel,” she snapped. “You’re making so many assumptions! Do you honestly think you fully understand the nature of Time?”

 

-

 

_At the time of writing, there is simply insufficient data to allow a meaningful conclusion to be reached. As mentioned previously, many of the figures used in my equations are rough estimates, and further investigation must wait until a wider pool of data is provided._

_Any sufficiently curious mind longs for answers. I admit that I find the results of this treatise to be a highly unsatisfactory understanding of the inter-world Time relationship. However, for now, I will use this non-conclusion as an exercise in contentment._

_This work is incomplete; I shall return to it when new data becomes available._

 

-

 

Words echoed around his head, Mother’s and Kirke’s. _The intricate mysteries of Time_ , Kirke had called it. Numbers danced behind his eyes. Numbers. They’ve always been the key to understanding the world, and that included Time. Kirke had been insane, but what if he’d also been onto something? 

Or maybe Daniel was insane, knowingly reacting to Mother’s words like this. _Do you honestly think you fully understand…_ It frustrated him, how she’d managed to manipulate his curiosity. Researching Time was her idea. Not his.

Even so, his hand flew across his notebook.

He couldn’t stop now, even if he wanted. 

 

-

_Daniel,_

_No matter what, remember, I will always love you._

_Mother_

\- 


End file.
